Shane Ross: Sack the entire RTÉ board. After all, it wouldn't be the first time

RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst. Photo: PA

Shane Ross

Come back cronyism, all is forgiven. God be with the days when political cronies filled the boards of Ireland’s semi-states. Remember with nostalgia the quaint, old-fashioned habit of taoisigh stuffing semi-state bodies with supplicants of their own colour. The boardrooms of monopolies like An Post, the DAA and particularly RTÉ resembled political party cumann meetings.

Charlie Haughey did it. Liam ­Cosgrave did it. Even Dick Spring did it. It was an appalling practice, but today’s rudderless, passive gang at RTÉ make the tribal chieftains of former boards look like inquisitive busybodies.